Events

October 2008

Wednesday October 15, 2008
12:30 pm-2:00 pm  Does Migration Improve Educational Opportunity for those that Stay Behind?
A talk by Adam Sawyer, Ed.D. candidate, Harvard Graduate School of Education and visiting research fellow, Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, UC-San Diego. Presented by the DavidRockefeller Center for Latin American Studies and ¡México Hoy! With ¡México Hoy! DRCLAS offers the Harvard Community different views of the panorama of Mexican society today, not as an object of policy, but as the complex of lives Mexicans now lead in their country. Location: CGIS South – S250, 1730 Cambridge Street. A light lunch will be served. For information, contact Kit Barron at chbarron@fas.harvard.edu. http://www.drclas.harvard.edu/mexico.

Thursday October 23, 2008
5:30 pm-7:00 pm  Jeanne S. Chall Lecture and Award Presentations
Dorothy Strickland, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Professor of Education at Rutgers Graduate School of Education, will present the fourth annual Jeanne S. Chall Lecture, The Literacy Achievement Gap: Research Evidence for Policy and Practice. The achievement gap between poor and minority students and their White and more affluent counterparts is one of the most pressing issues in education today. This presentation will focus on three related areas: (1) an overview of the historical influences framing discussions about the achievement gap; (2) the impact on specific populations and contexts and (3) research evidence about best practices that improve literacy achievement outcomes in low performing schools. Kathleen McCartney, Dean and Gerald S. Lesser Professor in Early Childhood Education will provide an introduction. A reception and announcement of the Jeanne S. Chall Doctoral Student Research Award to Kathleen Spencer and Research Grant to Julianne Scott will follow. Jeanne Chall, who served as a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, was a leading expert in her field. Chall’s seminal work on reading research and instruction influenced scholarship on the teaching of reading in schools and universities throughout the country. This event is free and open to the general public. Tickets are not necessary. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. For information, contact Madeline Tarabelli at tarabema@gse.harvard.edu. Gutman Conference Center.

Monday October 27, 2008
Runaway Nature
Artist Helen Chellin (www.helenchellin.com) presents Runaway Nature. Chellin's work focuses on volcanoes in Hawaii and most recently, raising awareness about ocean debris. There is a massive vortex of plastic pollution in the Pacific Ocean which is beginning to alarm environmentalists and is getting press. She will use the exhibit to educate visitors about the problem by having actual pieces of the plastic available. There will be an interactive station where visitors can view/handle the plastic debris and learn more about its damage to nature. An opening reception will be held October 27. For information, contact Janice Still at stillja@gse.harvard.edu. Gutman Library.

Tuesday October 28, 2008
5:30 pm-7:00 pm  School, Family, and Community Partnerships
A panel presentation about school, family, and community partnerships. To inspire Harvard University students, Phi Delta Kappa members, and the education community at large, our distinguished panel will share their research and practitioner experiences in creating meaningful and lasting school, family,and community partnerships designed to support learning in and out of school and to promote positive academic and social-emotional outcomes in K-12 students. The panel will include Karen Mapp, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Lecturer on Education; Anne Larkin, Lesley University School of Education, Professor Emerita and Director of the Cambridge Chapter of Say Yes to Education;
Maria Mossaides, Cambridge Family & Children’s Services, Executive Director; and Keith Catone, HGSE Doctoral Student in Culture, Communities, and Education.
This event is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by Phi Delta Kappa. For information, contact Helen Janc Malone at hjm052@mail.harvard.edu. Eliot-Lyman Room, Longfellow Hall.